Monday, December 01, 2008

Welcome back to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn't it sounds like "I come; [but] leave [as a] we"? And that's sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments should be honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug--a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Here is the vital information, pure and simple (a more detailed set of rules follows below the list):

The list opens the 1st of every month. It remains open until the 21st. You can add yourself at any point. The list is open to everyone in the blogosphere--blog writers and/or blog readers.

Add yourself to the list by leaving in the comment section your blog name, blog url, and three words that describe what you blog about most often.

Example:Stirrup Queens (please capitalize your title)http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com (please use http:// at the beginning of your url)(infertility, twins, books) (please leave all three words in lowercase and place parentheses around your three words)

I move the information from the comment section into the post (usually within 24 hours).

Click here to cut-and-paste this bit of code to add to your sidebar (if you have the old code from another month, remove it and replace it with this one). You need to add the icon or a link to the current list on your blog (see below) and will not be added until it's up.

Commenting kicks off every month on the 21st. Please mark it somewhere (calendar, post-it note taped to your computer...). Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th. Every day, leave 5 comments and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments. You are highly encouraged to choose the blogs you comment on from the participants list below, but this is not required. *Special Christmas caveat: in the spirit of the season, there will be a lot of leniency during IComLeavWe week rather than moving it to a different set of dates. Therefore, do the best you can.

Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commenters.

The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch out breath and the whole thing starts again the next month on the 1st. Drop in and out according to what is happening in your life between the 21st and the 28th.

The list is closed and the new January list will reopen on December 29th.

You have questions...I have answers:

Q: What if I miss a day?A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments--12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What is an Iron Commenter?A: Not for the faint-of-heart. People who wish to be an Iron Commenter and be entered on the Iron Commenter honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting any way you wish over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commenter status is done on an honour system. Please email me if you earn Iron Commenter status so I can add you to the wall of honour.

Q: Why do I have to add that bit of code to my sidebar?A: The code is the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you're on the right list). This month, the icon is silvery-ish, the next month it will be purple, etc. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins and better ensures that you'll use it. Too many times, people sign up and forget to actually do IComLeavWe and this icon gives you a daily reminder (with the dates on it) every time you open your own blog. The icon is linked back to the current list. On the 28th, remove the icon from your blog. A new one will be created for the next month.

Q: It's the 23rd and I just saw this for the first time on my friend's blog! I want to join the list--why can't I?A: Because IComLeavWe happens every month, once the list is closed, it's closed. If you're finding out about this on the 23rd, you can't join the current month. But leave yourself a note to check back in a week on the 1st and you can sign up for the next month.

Q: You said the list closes on the 21st. Well, it's still the 21st where I am. Why aren't you moving my information onto the list?A: All dates and times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5 hours).

Q: What if no one comments on my blog and I have no comments to return?A: Well, that really doesn't happen for the most part, but in that case, simply choose another blog and add an additional comment. The goal is to hit 6 comments daily as a minimum. Going over that is fantastic and encouraged.

Q: Mel, my question wasn't covered at all. What do I do?A: Email me; I'm quite friendly. It helps to place "IComLeavWe" in the subject line. You could also check this post which contains the history of IComLeavWe and see if you can glean anything there.

If you want to figure out how to navigate this site, please click here. There's a lot to process on the sidebars alone and this should help you from getting lost. If you want to know about my header and the image, click here.

She doesn't really know why she is writing about herself in third person, but you can read a lot more about her right here.

What is Stirrup Queens? It's a blog about infertility and pregnancy loss, an exploration of adoption and donor gametes, a bitch session about daily life and books, an outlet for stories and baking lessons written by a sustainable-living, kosher, Jewish, mother of twins conceived via fertility treatments who is still trying to add to her family.

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The Creme de la Creme

The Creme de la Creme list was last updated on 2/24/09 (8:01 p.m.). 219 posts on the list.

The list features a post from every participating member of the adoption/loss/infertility (ALI) blogosphere. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. The list is open the entire year and is added to on a daily basis for several months. If you would like to participate, please click here and read the instructions to send in your submission.